EV manufacturer Lucid plans to cut over 300 jobs

Lucid Motors Announces Major Workforce Reduction

Photo credit: Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times

Luxury electric vehicle manufacturer Lucid Motors, headquartered in the Bay Area, is set to lay off 319 employees as the company continues to face significant financial losses.

On Friday, Lucid submitted a notice to the California Employment Development Department, confirming the job cuts at its Newark, California headquarters. The layoffs come as the automaker grapples with ongoing challenges in achieving profitability, with demand for electric vehicles weakening and consumers increasingly seeking more affordable options.

These workforce reductions, which will take effect in April, represent a 12% cut to Lucid’s staff as the company aims to streamline operations and improve efficiency. As of 2024, Lucid employed approximately 6,800 people.

According to a company statement, the layoffs are intended to "streamline our organization so we can operate with greater efficiency and deliver on our commitments to gross margin improvement and long-term growth."

Marketing Efforts and Brand Ambassadors

In an effort to strengthen its brand, Lucid has launched a new advertising campaign featuring actor Timothée Chalamet, which is being broadcast on both television and streaming platforms. The campaign highlights the company’s seven-seat SUV, the Gravity.

Last year, Chalamet was named Lucid’s global brand ambassador, and director James Mangold was brought on to create a short film starring Chalamet and showcasing the Gravity SUV. Lucid described Chalamet as "bold, discerning, and unapologetically original," qualities the company says reflect its own brand identity.

Despite these marketing initiatives, Lucid continues to face a difficult market for electric vehicles. The company reported losses totaling $2.7 billion in both 2024 and 2025, though it did see a 55% increase in deliveries, reaching 15,841 vehicles last year.

Impact of Layoffs

The majority of the job cuts will affect Lucid’s engineering teams, with around 140 positions being eliminated across software and hardware divisions. Other roles impacted include data scientists, project managers, and designers. However, the company stated that manufacturing jobs at its Pinal County, Arizona facility will not be affected.

A Lucid spokesperson emphasized, "Our core priorities remain unchanged: we are focusing on the start of production of our Midsize platform and expanding sales of Lucid Gravity and Air in both current and new markets."

Company Background and Financial Performance

Lucid was established in 2007 under the name Atieva, initially focusing on electric vehicle battery technology. The company went public as Lucid in 2021, backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, and soon after introduced its luxury sedan, the Lucid Air, with a starting price around $80,000.

While Lucid’s stock remained steady during midday trading on Thursday, it has declined by nearly 55% over the past year.

Industry Challenges

Other luxury electric vehicle manufacturers, such as Tesla and Rivian, have also encountered recent setbacks. Although Rivian posted stronger-than-expected earnings for 2025, the company laid off over 600 employees last October, representing about 4% of its workforce. Tesla, meanwhile, has experienced declining sales and reputational challenges as CEO Elon Musk shifts the company’s focus toward artificial intelligence and autonomous driving technologies. Last month, Tesla announced it would discontinue two of its electric vehicle models.